Just Like Dad

My sons have recently developed a desire that has become quite frustrating. Whether they’re going to school, getting ready for church, or simply playing outside, they want to dress just like their dad—down to the very last detail. If I had one child, that might be a realistic expectation, but with three boys, it has become downright comical.

It’s not uncommon for all three of them to be inconsolable with emotion because “my shirt doesn’t have buttons all the way down”, or “dad’s not wearing jeans to work.”

My wife hides her head in her hands and, well, I just hide.

There’s a temptation for me to scream, to lose my cool, to lay down the law, and put an end to all of this nonsense. But today, my mom sent me a picture.

Just Like Daddy

Me and Dad circa 1986

That’s me and my dad in all of our 1980s splendor—clip-on tie and everything. This picture is the gentle reminder I needed today.

Sons should cherish time with their fathers and fathers should cherish time with his sons.

My dad is an amazing man. And the truth is, when I grow up, I hope to be just like him. I look up to him now as much as I did back then. Actually, probably more.

With all of the things that have changed in the last thirty years, one thing has remained. My dad really is my hero.

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, so wouldn’t we want our kids to imitate us?

When I think about my boys, it’s my greatest hope that, in thirty years, they would feel the same about me.

Imitating the Father

One of my greatest challenges in life and in fatherhood is the struggle to be present. To live in each moment. My mind constantly distracts me with to-do lists and anticipation of things to come.

There’s something special in a child wanting to imitate his father that speaks to the present. That’s the place in our spirit that echoes eternity—the reminder that we have an inborn desire to imitate a Father.

Today, I’m grateful that I have a father, both on earth and in heaven, who were willing to invest in me.

An earthly father who let me dress up like him and a heavenly Father who chose to dress up like me.

The beauty of this big picture is that it is a reflection of God’s love for us.

A love so grand that He clothed the eternal in mortal flesh and blood to give us an example.

He imitated us and asks that we imitate Him.

MH

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That’s powerful couple of last lines, thank you! I always get so intimidated as to whether I am imitatable! It’s such powerful reminder of the lives we are called to live beyond reproach which we reach because we are imitating him. Thanks Matt.